On the day of the launch of the Government's 'Going for Green' initiative, to follow up the 'Earth Summit', Friends of the Earth has appealed to John Gummer, Secretary of State for the environment, to use special laws to step in and save Red Moss, the threatened peat bog in Bolton (1). The bog has been dubbed 'the ugliest nature reserve in the UK' by campaigners.

Red Moss has been identified by Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council as a 'waste disposal site' in their Unitary Development Plan. The plan has now gone for final consultation, and should be adopted soon. Red Moss would be completely destroyed if it was used as a waste dump under the plan.

Peat bogs like Red Moss are recognised as "a nationally rare and endangered habitat" in the United Kingdom (2). The Government has an international responsibility to protect them. The Earth Summit documents which the Government produced last year described the UK's peatlands as "important on a global scale" (3).

Bolton Council has acknowledged "some degree of ecological value" (4). Yet Red Moss is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) - one of the best wildlife sites in the country. The bog supports a great variety of wildlife, including nine species of sphagnum moss, unusual dragonflies and the rare long-eared owl. Snipe and teal breed there.

English Nature, the Government's wildlife agency, designated Red Moss as a SSSI in January 1995. The original notification was quashed on a technicality after High Court action by Bolton Council .

Simon Festing, Habitats Campaigner at Friends of the Earth said:

"Red Moss is a test case for Mr Gummer's green credentials. In line with his Earth Summit

Dennis Watson (Bolton FoE) Tel: 0204 305469

obligations, he must step in to save this precious wildlife site."

"If protected, Red Moss could be a haven for local people to enjoy wildlife. Bolton Council must not be allowed to turn it into a rubbish tip"

ENDS

Dennis Watson (Bolton FoE) Tel: 0204 305469

PAGE 3 FRIENDS OF THE EARTH

NOTES TO EDITORS:

A short briefing sheet on Red Moss is available by fax or post on request.

1 Friends of the Earth has written to Mr Gummer outlining his legal powers, and asking him to intervene to save Red Moss.

Under the Town and Country Planning Act 1990, the Secretary of State for the Environment can intervene when development plans are 'unsatisfactory' or do not follow Government planning guidelines. Government policy. PPG 23: (Planning and Pollution Control) states that; "The special qualities of designated areas such as ... Sites of Special Scientific Interest, may be particularly sensitive to landfill or landraising. Proposals which would significantly harm these qualities will not normally be appropriate".

The Secretary of State has the power to direct Bolton Council to modify their draft Unitary Development Plan at any time before it is adopted. He may also use a 'reserve power' to call in all or part of a plan at any time before its adoption.

2 Department of the Environment. 1994. Report of the Working Group on Peat Extraction and Related Matters. HMSO. New Government research indicates that the remaining lowland raised bog "may be close to or even below the 'critical natural capital' required" to guarantee the survival of all its wildlife. (Joint Nature Conservation Committee. 1994. Guide-lines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs)

Peat bogs are also to be protected under the new European 'Habitats Directive', (the Council Directive on the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora (92/43/EEC)). This European law was described by Robert Atkins, Minister for the Environment and Countryside as "a significant milestone for the conservation of the most endangered habitat types and species in the European Union".

3 UK Government. 1994. Biodiversity: The UK Action Plan: Summary Report. HMSO. This was one of the four documents

which the UK Government produced in 1994 as a follow up tothe Earth Summit.

4 Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council. Proof of Evidence. Public Local Inquiry: Red Moss waste disposal site.

Dennis Watson (Bolton FoE) Tel: 0204 305469